TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED ELECTRONIC NOSE USING CONDUCTING POLYMER SENSORS

This paper describes progress that has been made towards realizing an artificial nose based on arrays of conducting polymers. Electrically conducting organic polymers based on heterocyclic molecules display reversible changes in conductivity when exposed to polar volatile chemicals. In the sensor described, the polymers are interrogated for resistance changes by means of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) realized in BiCMOS technology. The ASIC and the polymer array arc housed on a single thick-film ceramic substrate.